Hurricane Football Clashes With Long Island’s Top-Ranked Sayville

“All teams face adversity,” Westhampton Beach head football coach Bryan Schaumloffel said. “It’s our job to overcome it.”

His Hurricanes were confronted with more than one challenge facing Sayville (4-0 in League VI) under the Friday night lights, but fought tooth and nail in a 46-21 loss to the top team on Long Island.

“I’m proud of our guys’ effort,” Schaumloffel said. “The effort was what I was really concerned with.”

Not only did Westhampton Beach (4-1 in League VI) go toe-to-toe with the Golden Flashes, but the Hurricanes had to do so down five starters — four of which had to quarantine due to COVID-19 contact tracing and another to concussion protocol.

Senior quarterback Christian Capuano, who finished 8-for-17 throwing 202 yards and two touchdowns, said his teammates didn’t let the losses get to them.

“There’s no excuses,” he said. “Coach drilled into our heads that next-guy-up mentality. And the guys who stepped in stepped up and made plays.”

Capuano found one of those guys, junior wide receiver Owen Spizuoco (five catched for 111 yards), on a 75-yard touchdown pass to cut the Golden Flashes’ lead to 14-7 with 6:34 left in the first half.

Sayville quarterback Jack Cheshire, who passed for five touchdowns and a school-record 500 yards, connected with senior wide receiver Nathan Casaburi three times in the first half, though Westhampton Beach junior defensive end James Foster blocked the extra-point kick attempt on the third. The Golden Flashes duo led their team to the League VI title with an undefeated record and a first-round bye in the Suffolk County playoffs, which are expected to begin this Saturday, April 17.

After Sayville linebacker Charlie Sands’ sack of Capuano for a 17-yard loss forced the Hurricanes to punt, Cheshire took over on his own 49, and found a diving C.J. Messina on the first play from scrimmage for a 49-yard gain to the Westhampton Beach 2-yard line. On the next play, Cheshire ran it in for a 26-7 halftime lead.

“We tried to put pressure on the quarterback, and we did at times, but he’s a really talented kid,” Schaumloffel said. “Even when he scrambled around he made some great plays. We made some mistakes, and we didn’t capitalize on some of the special teams plays that we made.”

One of those was Terrall Faines’ blocked punt at the end of the first quarter. The Hurricanes covered the ball on the Golden Flashes’ 22, but Sayville stood strong and held Westhampton on the 13-yard line on 4th and 1.

“We battled. We gave it our all,” Capuano said. “We were in the red zone a couple of times. If a couple of plays went our way we would’ve been in it.”

But the Hurricanes did capitalize on senior running back and offensive linebacker Jackson Hulse’s fumble recovery at the 7:05 mark of the third for 1st and 10 on the Westhampton 24. Capuano threw a 81-yard strike to junior running back Deegan Laube (13 carries for 37 yards) just two plays later to make it 26-14 with Hulse’s second extra-point kick.

“We faced a lot of adversity, but we practiced well — had one of the greatest weeks — and we felt good. We came out here and gave it our all with the kids we had,” Hulse said. “We’ve just got to play a better game next week.”

Hulse, while used to playing multiple positions on both sides of the field, played all four quarters for the first time, which was done both for strategy and to cover for the Hurricanes that couldn’t play. He finished the evening with 78 yards on 11 carries at running back.

“I’m a little banged up,” he said, laughing. “But you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do, especially with kids being out. You’ve got to fill positions. You always have to be ready.”

Senior running back Aidan Cassara, who was one of the Hurricanes who had to quarantine, said it was difficult for him to watch from home as Cheshire iced the game with an 81-yard touchdown pass to Messina, who finished with eight catches for 257 yards. On the ensuing possession, defensive end Max Llewellyn strip-sacked Capuano and scored on a 5-yard fumble return for a 40-14 lead.

“I wish I could’ve got to say something to them to hype them up and to keep their heads up. I felt very out of place,” Cassara said. “I just wish I could’ve been there for me team. This is my first time missing a football game — ever.”

“To see my brothers on the field going at it and to not even be able to practice with them every day after school was a real emotional roller coaster for me,” he continued. “Every year my team and I love to go at the best teams, because we are in that category, too, so this year when we got our shortened season schedule, we of course circled April 9 on the calendar. My boys and I have been waiting for this for a long time. Watching the game felt unreal.”

Senior middle linebacker Dom Sarno, who also had to quarantine, was also emotional. The pair said it was especially difficult missing any game for something out of their control in their final season, especially a shortened one.

“Sitting out is one of the toughest things I’ve had to do,” Sarno said. “It was definitely a weird experience. Thankfully, I’ll be playing at the next level, but this is the last ride for some guys.”

Both starters expect to be back just in time for Westhampton Beach’s semifinal playoff game against League V’s East Islip (4-0). The game will be on the road for the Hurricanes Saturday at 1 p.m.

“We have to brush this off and get ready for work,” Capuano said. “We’re leaving this behind us, and we’re getting ready for East Islip.”